Anyone, anywhere in the world is free to carry out these projects
using their own resources.

Perspex GUI

The
perspex machine is a theoretical machine that exceeds the
computational power of the Turing machine. It operates by performing
matrix transformations in a 4D space. A simulation of the perspex
machine and a GUI, both implemented in C++, already
exist. The simulation could be improved in efficiency by replacing
linked lists with a hash table.

Alternatively, the GUI could be linked to efficient simulations of
the perspex machine developed in other projects. The GUI could be
extended by adding features to improve the visualisation and
debugging of perspex programs. This GUI project can be performed on
a PC using a C++ compiler and OpenGL. It requires the
purchase of a LEDA licence at approximately £150.
This sum will be paid by the university. The project would suit one
student and might lead to results publishable in a
scientific conference.

C to Perspex Compiler

A
compiler that converts a subset of the C programming language into
perspex neural nets already exists. The compiler is implemented
in Pop11. The project will re-implement the existing compiler in C
and extend it with the eventual aim, outside this project, of
achieving recursion when the compiler can be compiled into a perspex
neural net. The project can be performed on a PC using compiler
tools such as LEX and YACC. The project could be performed by one or
two students. In the case of two students each would develop a part
of the compiler and compare compilation strategies. Later, once the
core of C had been implemented, each student could take on different
parts of the C language. The project might lead to results
publishable in a scientific conference.

Perspex Emergence from Random Space

There is a theoretical reason to believe that if a perspex space is
initialised at random and execution of perspexes is repeatedly
started at random places then the execution will not be random, but
will organise into large clusters of space, filled with subspaces,
that all perform semi-stable computations. The project will use
statistical methods and a GUI to test the hypothesis of self
organisation. This project can be performed on a PC. It requires the
purchase of a LEDA licence at approximately £150. This sum will be
paid by the university. The project would suit one student and might lead to results publishable in a scientific
conference.

Perspex Genetic Algorithms

An
algorithm exists for converting any Turing computable program into a
genetic structure where a single parameter controls the whole
program and successive parameters control successively finer parts
of the program. This raises the possibility of having an apparently
directed genetic evolution in which a program finds a local optimum
in a search space before performing fine optimisations. This project
will implement the algorithm and test it to see if this
global-to-fine optimisation does occur. This project can be
performed on a PC. It requires the purchase of a
LEDA licence at
approximately £150. This sum will be paid by the university. The
project would suit one or two students. In the case of two students
they would work together to implement the algorithm and then each
student would explore
different search spaces, mutation and cross-over strategies. The
project might lead to results publishable in a scientific
conference.

Isolinear Perspex Computation

Perspex space can be convolved with a triangular kernel, subject to
certain boundary conditions, so that it yields an isolinear space in
which every point in space contains a program and nearby points
contain nearly the same program. This project will aim to produce an
efficient simulation of an isolinear perspex space, implemented in C++,
and will test isolinear perspex programs to see how resilient they
are to damage and whether or not the position of a perspex start can
be used as an alternative to a genetic algorithm. This project can
be performed on a PC. It requires the purchase of a
LEDA licence at
approximately £150. This sum will be paid by the university. This
project would suit one student. The project might lead to results
publishable in a scientific conference.

Suggest a Project

If you would like to suggest a project on the
perspex machine then please
email the author.